Poor Diets Outkill Smoking Worldwide

A University of Washington study reported by NPR found that poor diets were linked to more deaths worldwide than smoking. Published in The Lancet, researchers analyzed dietary data from 195 countries and connected roughly 11 million annual deaths to diseases including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Israel, France, Spain, and Japan had some of the lowest diet-related death rates, while the United States ranked 43rd. Meanwhile, approximately 800 million people lacked enough food, and 1.9 billion were overweight, making hunger and obesity two forms of malnutrition.

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